


Operation Valentine

by JadeJem



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Adrien Ships It, F/M, Fluff, Ladybug Ships It, Miraculous Ladybug - Freeform, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Poor Adrien, Reveal, Special, What Have I Done, miraculous - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-22 07:58:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13759701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeJem/pseuds/JadeJem
Summary: In which Adrien's Valentine's Day does not go as expected. At all.





	Operation Valentine

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, loves! Jade and Hala here with a SWANKY collaboration for the day of love.
> 
> (definitely didn't forget to post this here)
> 
> Enjoy. ;)

****Valentine's Day. For some, this is a day of infatuation, of laughter, of presents, and―most of all― of love.

Others, however, view this as a day of agony, mockery, and loneliness. A holiday created to spit in the face of "single" ladies, deliberately ignoring Beyoncé's confident cheer that it's okay to be independent and not rely on a man.

Marinette wishes Adrien would put a ring on it already.

**❥ ❥ ❥**

"Girl, it's just a game," Alya reminds Marinette, who taps her fingers nervously on the wooden desk.

"Just a game.... just a game?!" the lively bluenette demands, tossing her hands up in the air. "If Adrien pulls Chloé's name out of that basket, he will be required, by school, to shower her with presents. And you know how good of a student he is! He'd buy her a phone if it meant receiving an 'A' for it!"

"If it makes you feel better," Alya responds, talking slowly in what's probably an attempt to keep Marinette calm, "I don't like it either. I'm gonna be high-key jealous if some other girl pulls Nino's name out of there."

"Yeah, but you two are official," Marinette whines, planting her chin on the heel of her palm with a huff. "Adrien and I are just friends, as he keeps reminding everybody. Constantly."

"One time!" Alya protests, turning her attention to Miss Bustier as she approaches the two best friends.

"Take one slip of paper each," Miss Bustier instructs, offering the small wooden basket full of even smaller pieces of paper.

Marinette sighs before thrusting her hand in and out as if the basket is filled with shark-infested water. Alya sends her a weirded-out look before grabbing a random slip off of the top.

The best friends inhale in synchrony, readying the themselves for the results.

"Rose," Alya reads blankly, looking up and blinking. "No problem."

"Chloé," Marinette groans, dragging the palm of her hand down her face and crumpling the slip of paper in her other hand. "Fantastic."

Alya chuckles, sounding less concerned for Marinette's doomed situation and more amused. "Welp. Good luck with that one."

"She hates everything!" Marinette complains, mood at a record low (especially considering the day of dread drawing nearer).

As if to prove her point, Chloé (being a desk over) shoves a 14-karat bracelet away in disgust and crosses her arms. "Ew, Daddy!" she banshee-shrieks into the yellow cellphone pressed against her ear. "I only accept 24-karat gold!"

"Grr...," Marinette growls under her breath. "What a brat!"

Across the classroom, Adrien inhales and shoves his hand into the basket of names. He digs around for a bit before picking the slip on the very bottom of the pile―he always enjoys rooting for the underdog... or undercat.

Adrien accidentally laughs out loud.

He tries to suppress it, and it comes out as a horrific, strained, gurgle.

Miss Bustier stares at him, appearing concerned. Adrien swallows his moan of embarrassment and nods at her. After a moment more of awkward staring, Miss Bustier moves on.

"Ay, I got Sabrina," Nino states, drawing Adrien's attention to him. "She ain't so bad―minus her minor obsession with Chloé. Who'd you get?"

Adrien shrugs. "Haven't opened mine yet."

Nino looks at him, befuddled. "Open it!"

"Okay, okay," Adrien chuckles, humoring Nino and unfolding the slip of paper.

_**Marinette** _

"Marinette," he reads aloud, careful to keep his tone quiet so the aforementioned bluenette seated behind him doesn't overhear. Well, he certainly likes her. Adrien's been dreading this moment, but he supposes he really has nothing to worry about.

He looks to Nino for a reaction.

A smile is curling Nino's lips, eyes glinting mischievously.

...uh oh.

**❥ ❥ ❥**

The Parisian evening is a cool one. Winter is drawing to an end, and all traces of snow are beginning to melt away with the slightly warmer days France is undergoing.

Chat comes to a running stop on a random rooftop, tired and slightly frustrated. He's been debating on what to get Marinette for this whole 'Secret Valentine' thing for a while now. He wants it to be perfect because she deserves the best. She's too amazing not to.

He relinquishes a sigh and plops down on the edge of the roof, not even bothering to cover the rest of his sector. If there's trouble, he'll hear it.

He's not sure how long he sits here for. Minutes? Seconds?

His cat ears twitch, and a sudden but familiar presence behind him has him relaxing. A faint hint of chocolate and strawberries touch the air―maybe a pinch of vanilla.

_Ladybug._

Ladybug takes a seat next to him. Their eyes meet, and she smiles one of her rare and far between smiles.

The two sit in a comfortable silence. Chat wants to ask her about what he should get for Marinette, but would that be considered a violation of their 'no personal info' rule?

He begins to gently swing his legs back and forth, tossing the idea around.

"Something on your mind?"

He jumps at his Lady's amused tone and turns to look at her.

"Ah―civilian stuff. My class is doing this weird Valentine's Day thing, and I'm not sure what to get this one girl," he explains, trying to keep it as vague as possible.

Ladybug's mask lifts where her right eyebrow is. "I'm listening."

Chat looks away nervously. "This girl... she's amazing. I want to get her something special and memorable. I know this isn't Christmas, but I want her to smile like it is. I just have absolutely no clue on what she would really like."

Ladybug taps her chin. "What are her interests?"

"I know she's into fashion. She makes her own clothes! Super cool. I have no idea what kind of chocolate she likes, or if she thinks stuffed animals are lame, but I know she'll appreciate whatever I do get her," he explains flamboyantly, relinquishing a sigh.

A hum fills the space between them, and Ladybug snaps her fingers. "If it were me, I'd want milk chocolate and black roses. Amongst other things, of course, but... well, they're more of my personal interests."

Chat raises an eyebrow. "Black roses?"

"Yeah," Ladybug says defensively, "they're cool."

"Huh." Chat can already imagine Marinette saying the exact same thing. He finds a grin stretching his face.

With pursed lips curved into a slight smile, Ladybug queries, "What's she like?"

"Very sweet and brave," Chat states immediately, his attention moving away from his spotted partner. "She sticks up for others. She's smart, as well. She always knows just what to say to get people to follow her lead or believe in her cause. Oh! And she's caring. She puts others before herself more often than not. It's... admirable..." A frown curves his brow as everything he's just said echoes inside of his head.

_She sounds almost exactly like..._

"Sounds like Kitty has a crush," Ladybug teases, a silly grin curving her lips.

"What?!" Chat exclaims, if a bit louder than appropriate. "No I don't! She's―"

"Don't you  _dare_  say 'just a friend.' I've heard that one one too many times," Ladybug snaps, her demeanor souring almost instantly.

Chat reels back, chuckling experimentally and holding his hands up in surrender. "Speaking from experience?"

"Maybe."

Chat can't help but laugh at the adorably stubborn pout Ladybug pulls. She glares at him, lips pooched and eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't laugh!"

He chuckles again and tries to catch her tongue with his gloved fingers when she pokes it out at him.

"Ew! Chat! Don't grab my tongue with your dirty suit!"

Chat can almost feel the offense rolling off of Plagg in waves. "I think you've offended my Kwami," he states, cracking a smile.

Almost instantly, guilt plasters itself across her face. "I didn't mean to―I mean, is he really...? Ah, I'm sorry."

Chat smiles warmly at her squirming. How could she be any sweeter?

And, for reasons unbeknownst to him, Marinette's blushing face comes to mind. Her eyes glitter brilliantly in the natural lighting streaming through the gaping windows of their classroom, cheeks a soft scarlet and cherry blossom lips parted in a loss of words.

_She is so, so beautiful..._

"Chat? Hello?"

Chat nearly jumps a foot in the air. "Huh? Oh! Sorry! I, um―I c-completely―"

Oh my god, is what is HAPPENING to him?

Ladybug sports a knowing look. "I see."

Chat's cheeks heat further. "No! I-I―it's not―! Agh!"

_Fine. I admit it: I... I have a really big crush on Marinette, don't I?_

Well shit.

**❥ ❥ ❥**

_Black Rose. Black Rose._

Adrien frantically speed-walks around the colorful floristry warehouse, passing bouquets of pink and red flowers, pots of tulips, and every single color of rose except for black. When he had entered and requested a black rose, the brunette girl at the front had looked at him through a heavily-eyelined glare like he was crazy, as if he had asked for a single, dead dandelion.

He brushes his doubts away with a shake of his head. He trusts Ladybug. He trusts his partner more than anyone on this planet. And he knows that she cares about him, too. She wouldn't purposely ruin the gift to a girl he obviously feels fondly for... would she?

No! There's that guilt again!

"Gah," he mutters, shoving his hands into his pockets in frustration.

"Geez, boss," Plagg's unmistakable croak of a voice comments, "what's wrong with you?"

Adrien quickly steps into an aisle where nobody is around to respond glumly, "You wouldn't care even if I told you."

Plagg cackles. "Try me."

Adrien sighs, blowing a strand of his golden hair away from his face. "I just... I want my present to be perfect for Ma―"

Before he has the time to finish her name, it pops up on his smartphone screen, accompanied by Jagged Stone's hit song "Blue Eyes, Blue Hair," written for the girl herself. When the song first dropped, the class decided to tease Marinette (in a loving way) by setting that song as her ringtone on everyone's phone.

Hands shaking, he pops the phone out of his pocket and answers, "Hey, Blue Eyes Blue Hair! I mean―urm... Marinette!"

Adrien facepalms so hard his forehead throbs.

"H-hey, Adrien" she replies, equally awkward. "I was wondering, um, if you could tell me about Chloé."

Adrien raises his eyebrows. "Chloé?" he repeats, nose wrinkling slightly. "Why?"

"She's my class-assigned Valentine," Marinette explains through the speaker, disappointment tinting her lovely voice.

Adrien chuckles empathetically, finding humor in her unfortunate situation.

"Anyways," she continues, seemingly pestered by his audacity to laugh at her circumstance, "I'm not sure how to get her something that she won't throw across the room in disgust."

"Good luck," Adrien mutters, perturbed by her sigh on the other line.

Plagg peeks out from his flannel. "Wow, boss. You never talk to her and the one time you do, you're a jerk. Smooth move."

After a quiet pause, Marinette blurts, "Is Nino there?"

Adrien's emerald eyes widen. "No! Nobody but me," he assures her in a voice that doesn't even convince himself.

"Okay... Well, do you have any suggestions?" she asks hopefully.

To Adrien's delight, at the very back of the warehouse, he spots a single black rose in the center of a red bouquet. "Yes!" he exclaims, doing a little fistpump and jogging towards it.

"Great! Thanks, Adrien!" Marinette replies cheerfully, garnering Adrien's full attention once more.

Adrien frowns. "Huh? Oh!" Embarrassed, he comes to a stop in front of the bouquet and scratches the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah, you're welcome!" he blurts awkwardly, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"Let's start with flowers," she suggests, giggling softly. Adrien's heart beats unevenly at the jovial sound. "I'm just wandering around a floristry warehouse with zero ideas. Know any flowers she might appreciate even slightly?"

"Zero ideas? That doesn't sound like you," he responds, blushing lightly. "You're the most intelligent girl I know." Well, next to Ladybug.

Marinette inhales sharply, and his heart lurches into his throat at the pleasant sound.

_Ew! Stop being creepy!_

And then the words "in a floristry warehouse" hit him like a freight train.

Adrien glances around to make sure no one is watching before quickly tugging the black rose from the bouquet, ready to leave.

"Adrien?" Marinette's voice inquires, but this time it doesn't flow through the phone's speaker, it comes from about 30 feet away... where Marinette is standing on the other side of the aisle, her mouth parted in surprise.

"H-hey?" she manages, turning her confused frown into a polite smile.

It takes Adrien about a solid seven seconds before he realizes his "Secret Valentine" present is out in the open for said "Secret Valentine" to see. Frantically, he shoves the black rose behind his back and falsely hopes she hadn't seen it. She had.

He waves awkwardly. "Um, Marinette! Hi!"

The girl―with the midnight-blue hair that enhances color every time the natural lighting from the tinted windows shines on a strand―gradually shifts into a more comfortable stance and begins walking towards him.

"What're you doing here?" she asks, a picture of angelic innocence painted across her expression.

_Oh god, she's so beautiful._

"Adrien?"

"I am so f**ked."

Marinette's eyes widen at his comment, confusion welling within their cerulean depths. Adrien slaps an embarrassed hand over his mouth, gloriously warm heat rushing to his cheeks. "I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to say that out loud!"

_Oh, lord. Is there an 'undo' button?_

"Y-you're just so pretty!"

_Or an OFF button?_

Adrien has never been more humiliated in his  _life._

Marinette's cheeks glow a soft scarlet, and she hurriedly looks away and tucks a tendril of hair behind her ear. "Th-thank you," she stammers, stealing a glance at him before her gaze dances away again.

Adrien can't help but stare. "No problem, Princess."

Marinette stiffens.

The words hang in the air between them.

 _No... I did_ not  _just say that out loud._

Marinette's shocked gaze is trained on him, and Adrien can practically see the gears whirring in her head.

"...Chat Noir?"

_Curse her undeniably attractive intelligence._

Adrien has no idea what to do. He simply stands there, stiff as a board, with a blank face.

_Say something!_

"Don't tell anyone!" he blurts stupidly, immediately slapping a hand over his mouth.

Marinette blinks, incredulity shining in her expression. "Wait... so you're really...?"

Adrien groans. "Ladybug is so going to kill me." He glances at her apologetically before sighing and stepping towards her.

He guides the bluenette towards the front of the floristry and pays for the black rose, not even bothering to hide it at this point.

Marinette stares at him the whole time, mouth parted and eyes glazed over in shock.

Adrien flushes as he leads her by the shoulder out of the floristry and around a corner.  _'Is it really that hard to believe that Chat Noir and I are the same person?'_

Once they're safely out of view of possible prying eyes, Adrien releases his hold on Marinette.

He holds up the hand with his ring on it, and the silver glints brilliantly in the sunlight. "This is what turns me into a superhero," he tells her, eyebrow raised. "This is what Hawk Moth is after. This is what puts me, and now  _you_  in danger." The thought is unsettling, and he finds himself swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Nice one, kid. Why don't we just broadcast it on the news?" Plagg asks sarcastically, zipping out of Adrien's inner flannel pocket.

Adrien points at Plagg, whom Marinette is now eyeing with a stricken expression. "This is Plagg."

Plagg and Marinette stare at one another.

"Do you have any cheese on you?"

Marinette jumps and immediately grabs her small bag protectively. "Ah―no. Sorry." She blinks and leans towards the Kwami, eyes sparkling. "You're so cute!" She catches Plagg in her hands and plants a kiss on the side of his head.

Plagg sits there for a moment before coloring a gentle pink. He floats off of her hand and towards an awestruck Adrien.

"I like her," Plagg says, a dazed look gracing his face. "Can we keep her?"

Marinette giggles behind the palm of her hand. "Plagg, was it?"

"Yep," Adrien answers, taking his loopy Kwami with an incredulous scowl and tucking him back into Adrien's flannel. He gazes at Marinette, wonderstruck. "You're handling meeting a mystical god pretty well."

A nervous laugh bubbles from Marinette's mouth. "Well, you  _are_  a literal superhero. Can't get any more mystical than that!"

Adrien eyes her, concern lacing its way through the forefront of his emotions, and he places an apologetic hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I've put you in this position. Really, I didn't mean to." Yet he can't find it in himself to quench his relief. Someone finally knows! Then again, it's (one of?) the girl(s?) he's crushing on, and it won't end well if Hawk Moth finds out and uses her against him.

Marinette's expression softens, and she reaches up and pulls him into a hug. "It's okay, Adrien. I can handle myself."

Adrien smiles and hugs her back, taking this opportunity to nuzzle his face into her neck and breathe her in.

_Vanilla and strawberries._

He inhales deeper, the smell achingly familiar.

_...and chocolate._

He tries to place the smell, but Marinette is escaping his grasp.

So, Adrien does the one thing he can think to do off the top of his head to keep her close enough to match the smell to a face.

He panics―and kisses her.

Adrien had imagined his first kiss going in many ways. He'd imagined sweeping a girl (Ladybug) off of her feet and kissing the life out of her, cornering her into a wall and being surprised when she kissed him first, even going so far as to imagine her climbing through his window and kissing him awake.

He'd never thought he'd kiss her like this.

It snaps in him like a rubber-band that's been stretched too far. The signs bombard him from all angles as his eyes fly open to simply stare at her for a moment. It's like he's been stumbling in the dark cold of midnight for years, and the morning has finally dawned.

He can see her.

_He can see her._

Unrequited feelings, electricity, love, and passion bleed into the kiss as the two pull each other together. The once blurry picture is so suddenly crystal clear, it sends shudders down Adrien's spine.

How had he missed it before? How had he overlooked her? Why had it taken so long for him to figure it out?

The kiss is shattered by the gasps of air Marinette and Adrien take in. The air around them is still charged, and Adrien fights the temptation to dive back into his slice of heaven; his Lady.

"Hey, Marinette?"

"Yeah?"

"Red is definitely your color."

**Author's Note:**

> Voila! Was planning on writing more, but we do have a deadline. XD
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and please be sure to leave a like and a comment if you enjoyed reading this as much as we enjoyed writing it. <3
> 
> Xoxo, J & H.
> 
> A Jade and Hala Collaboration ©


End file.
